Fresh Tomato Juice
Juices are my salvage right now. It is peak summer and I am making lots of juices. This is one of my recent favourite juices, It is made with only tomatoes and it tasted fantastic. In this blog, I have shared two versions of making tomato juice, the second one is my favorite. I added some cardamom in that to makes it more tasty and aromatic and it really worked well as well.
About Tomato Juice
Tomato juice also known as Thakkali juice is a refreshing and popular juice recipe. Tomato juice is a beverage that can be consumed on its own or in cocktails such as the Bloody Mary, Caesar, or Michelada. It is highly nutritious since tomatoes are rich in Vitamin C, B vitamins, and potassium. Fresh tomatoes are available in abundant during summer season. I like to make my tomato biryani, tomato kurma, tomato curry for lunch. I also make tomato puree & paste and homemade tomato ketchup. But most of the time I make this tomato juice since it is cooling and refreshing. You can make tomato juice raw or slightly cooked. The first version by blanching tomatoes in hot water and removing the skins. The second one is my favorite which is made without peeling the skins from tomatoes and I also added cardamom as flavouring.
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Watch Tomato Juice Video
Tomato Juice Ingredients
Tomatoes - I am using tomatoes which are fresh, ripe and juicy. The sweeter the tomatoes the more tasty the juice gets. Make sure the tomatoes are fresh. Sugar - depending on your taste you can adjust the sugar quantity. You can in fact use honey instead of sugar. Salt - add a pinch of salt to enhance the sweetness of the juice. Lemon - freshly squeezed lemon juice is one of the main ingredient which balance the taste of the juice. Optional - some of the flavouring that goes well with tomato juice is ginger and cardamom.
Tomato Juice Recipe (2 Ways)
Slightly Cooked Juice - For making this version, I like to blanch the tomatoes in hot boiling water for few seconds. This helps to remove the skins from the tomatoes easily. Once the skin is removed, you can take in blender along with other ingredients and make it into a puree. Strain this mix through a strainer, add more water if needed. Put few ice cubes in a cup, pour in juice and serve immediately. Raw Tomato Juice - Take all the ingredients except icecubes in a blender, puree till smooth. Strain this mix through a strainer, add more water if needed. Put few ice cubes in a cup, pour in juice and serve immediately.
How to Make Tomato Juice (Stepwise Pictures)
Blanching Tomatoes
1)Wash tomatoes really well and take them in a pot. 2)I removed the step of the tomatoes and made plus like incision in the bottom of the tomato for the peel to remove easily. 3)Cover with boiling water and let them sit for 3 minutes. This will help to soften the peel and remove it easily. 4)Remove the tomatoes using a slotted spoon and immerse them in cold water for few seconds to shock them. 5)Now you can see the tomato peel is peeling off easily. 6)Do this to all the tomatoes.
Grinding Tomatoes
7)Take the blanched tomatoes in a blender. You can chop them but I left them whole. 8)Grind the tomatoes to a smooth puree. Don’t add water at this stage. the water from the tomatoes is enough to grind them.
Straining Tomato Juice
9)Pour the tomato puree through a sieve. 10)Strain them by pushing using a spatula. Keep straining until most of the tomato juice is extracted. 11)Freshly squeezed tomato juice.
Make tomato juice
12)Pour some ice water into the squeezed tomato juice. 13)Add in sugar to taste. You can use honey to taste as well. 14)Add a pinch of salt and mix well. 15)Add in lemon juice to taste. You can taste the juice and add more sugar or lemon juice. 16)Mix well. I like to place this in fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. 17)Pour tomato juice in serving glass and enjoy.
Variations
This method of making tomato juice is my favorite method. It is raw tomato juice flavoured with ginger and cardamom.
Ingredients used
6 Tomato 1 inch piece Ginger 3 tbsp Sugar ½ tsp Cardamom powder 2 tbsp Lemon juice ½ tsp Salt Cold water & Ice Cubes
How to Make Raw Tomato Juice
1)Take fresh tomatoes and chop them into small pieces. 2)Take the tomatoes in a blender. This time you can use them with skins and seeds. 3)Add in a small piece of ginger which I peeled and washed really well. 4)Add in some cardamom pods. You can use ground cardamom as well. 5)Add in salt to taste. This pinch of salt help to enhance the taste. 6)Add in sugar to the juice. 7)Add in lemon juice to taste. 8)Now if you want, you can add some water when grinding. 9)Tomatoes are ground really well. 10)pour the tomato juice through a strainer. 11)Push and extract as much juice as possible. 12)Add more water to the tomato juice as needed and mix well. Taste and adjust the sugar and lemon juice. 13)Place the juice in fridge for few hours. Pour into serving glass and enjoy cold.
Expert Tips
make sure you use ripe tomatoes, unripe tomatoes tends to be sour and lack the rich tomato flavour. you can use sugar as per your taste. honey or maple syrup can be used for sugar. lemon juice is important to make the juice fresh and tasty. along with ginger, cardamom, you can use mint leaves for fresh taste. some strawberries can be added into the juice along with tomatoes for bright summery taste.
Storage
This juice can be made in bulk and stored in fridge for upto a week.
What are the health benefits of tomato juice?
Tomato juice is high in antioxidants like lycopene, which may help to lower inflammation and your risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
What are the best tomatoes for juicers?
Plum tomatoes are the best tomatoes for juicers are meaty and juicy, with a rich flavour that is balanced.
What happens if I drink tomatoes everyday?
Consumption of tomatoes will provide anti-inflammatory properties and thus, can be really beneficial for overall heart and brain health.
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